Different kind of cakes
by Rogercat
Summary: Bilbo and Dis bond over some cooking. (AU with female Bilbo)


While some of the Dwarven Lords had been justified in their belief of that reclaiming Erebor from a dragon was little less than walking into death, Thorin Oakenshield and his heirs had managed to survive, along with the rest of their Company.

Of course, a lot of the success laid on the Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who had been named under royal protection and was to be treated as a noble-born Dwarrowdam for all of her deeds and courage. It had not really meant that she was granted a noble title or that she would expect marriage offers, but once words spread about the wealth of offspring among Hobbits, as well that Thorin had all but officially said that Bilbo would become his Queen consort soon, she and her future sister-in-law Dis had found themselves in the roles of acting matchmakers between Erebor and the Shire. A lot of unmarried Hobbit girls and women, who otherwise would end up alone since they often had been in the center of some scandal which ruined their value in the marriage market, had found themselves courted by Dwarves who had taken inspiration from the current King of Durin's folk.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

"Phew! I knew that the Dwarven race had suffered a heavy blow in losing Khazad-dûm, the wars against the orcs and when Smaug attacked Erebor, but I did not know that it was this serious!"

Bilbo and Dis had taken a break from their duties, planning to spend the afternoon for themselves.

"It does not help in that Dwarrowdams are so rarely born, so the fertility of you Hobbits should hopefully help us gain a more even number of daughters born. A few generations of Hobbit-added fertility should help us grow in strength so the future Durin VII will have a strong army to reclaim Khazad-dûm," Dis responded as she braided her beard up and did the same with her greying hair, so neither beard or hair would be in the way for her hands. Bilbo had allowed her hair to grow out again after the adventure which had tied her fate to the Line of Durin, but it was still nowhere as long as it once had been in her younger years.

With so many Hobbit females in Erebor nowadays, some of their culture was bound to sneak into the Dwarven culture as well. Not all the daily meals, of course, but a few others. Such as the sweets served at tea.

"Alright, time to make a tasty sponge cake!"

Bilbo had learnt some family recipes from her mother Belladonna, so now she took the chance to teach Dis. There was no way of knowing when she could fall pregnant after the wedding to Thorin, so for now, she focused on the new female relative by marriage.

"Mixing eggs and sugar together...then flour…"

As they waited on the sponge cake to be finished in the oven, Dis began to gather up the items needed for a cake she hoped that the Hobbit did not know about.

"What is this brown powder? I have not seen it before."

Of course not, the Shire was far from the trade roads and by not being that open to outsiders, the Hobbits missed a lot of things from the wider world.

"It is cacao, made from a rare bean in the East. Very expensive, so few outside the royal family and nobles can afford it. You are lucky, not even we uses it very much because we do not want to waste the money spent on it."

Dis showed Bilbo how to make the batter, and then a few secrets was shared:

"This cake is meant to be sticky in the middle, if it is overcooked it will end up dry, and undercooked makes it a runny mess. Trust me, it is tempting to let te remain in the oven a few minutes extra, but that will cost you the stickiness it should have."

Bilbo was set to make whipped cream, which would go well with both the cakes.

Finally, both the cakes was cooled off and they could invite Thorin, Fili and Kili for some nice afternoon tea together as a family.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

The recipes in this story are real ones I sometimes uses in baking. For the sponge cake you need:

50 grams of melted butter

2 eggs

2 dl of sugar

3 dl of wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar, or, grated shell of 1/2 lemon

1 dl of milk or water

Oven at 175 C for about 50 minutes in a greased and floured baking tin. This batter also works as muffins at 200 C, for 20 minutes in either paper forms or a muffins tin

For the chocolate cake:

100 grams of melted butter

2 eggs

3 dl of sugar

3 1/2 dl of wheat flour

4 tablespoons cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar

Pour the mix into a greased and floured round baking tin with detachable edge, and it shall be in the oven for 15-20 minutes on 200 C


End file.
